Africa

Inward foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into China grew 7.1 percent in September over the prior year. China’s National Development Reform Commission expects to produce first draft of antirust guidelines for the automobile sector by the end of October. China’s State Administration of Taxation moves forward with plan to deal with tax avoidance issues such as transfer pricing. Google reported activates Google Maps and Google Earth on and moves servers to the Chinese mainland. IBM to allow China to view its security codes in a clean room to assuage Chinese concerns about foreign technology. Chinese OFDI continues to show strength, especially along One Belt, One Road. Russian subnational units court Chinese investment. Dakang New Zealand pulls out of massive dairy investment in New Zealand blaming regulatory obstacles. Chinese anticorruption authorities move against Sam Pa as part of investigation of Su Shulin and Sinopec. Japan works with Iran to bolster its investment opportunities in the country. Korea’s Trade-Investment Promotion Agency holds job fair to help young Korean jobseekers land positions with foreign companies in Korea and abroad. Starbucks Coffee Korea brews up a new mix of programs to give back to the community in Korea. Korean firms score well in winning packages to build a massive oil refinery in Kuwait. Freeport favors IPO divestment method to satiate Indonesian government requirements for ownership stake reallocation.

China slaps Beijing Simplot Food Processing Co. Ltd. with record fine for water pollution. Qualcomm finds new ways to bolster its position in China. Chinese companies expand the range of investment projects they consider in Brazil despite the latter’s political and economic challenges. Chinese energy companies face multiple political complexities when they invest in Canadian oil sands assets. Chinese companies engage in capacity building due to local supplier problems and negative impact on government relations. Tokyo Electron-Applied Materials Merger fails. Korean firms face troubles relating to China’s new stance towards Variable Interest Entities. Korea’s Foodpolis draws Chinese food firm investments for political and economic reasons. Indonesian moves to leverage its market raise foreign government concerns in regards to Indonesia’s World Trade Organization compliance. Indonesia’s investment board pursues diverse measures to attract “green investment.” Realized foreign direct investment in Vietnam continues to grow.